Tim Ainley, CEO of Forward Edge, recently shared an inspiring message at a graduation commencement ceremony that is a timely and impactful message for us all. But, especially for recent graduates, young adults, and teens, these words could be the guiding principles you need as you step into a world with a million different possibilities:
Read Part 3: Let God’s Will Come to You
And finally, here’s my fourth and final piece of advice:
What? Live to be forgotten? That’s weird, right? This is a hard one for me. Because everyone wants to be remembered. Everyone wants to leave an impression. Everyone wants to be esteemed and honored and recognized, right?
But what was John the Baptist famous for saying as his ministry was coming to a close? “He must increase, and I must decrease.” I must fade away, and be forgotten, so that He can be the one remembered.
Paul says in Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God who loves me and gave Himself up for me.
Well first, we see that Paul knows Whose he is, right? And in that, Paul considers himself dead – he no longer lives. His life is Christ’s now. He belongs to Him.
In Philippians 1:21, Paul says for him, “to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Graduates, let’s not live to make names for ourselves. Let’s live to make known the name of Jesus. Let’s daily pick up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Him.
Let’s remember that we are His – He bought us with his life, so let’s give Him back what He paid for: our lives.
Let’s not live for our own sake’s, but like Jesus, let’s live for the sake of others. Let’s serve others because that’s what we were created to do.
And let’s not run ahead of God, striving to make things happen in our own strength. Let’s be patient and enjoy the freedom that comes when we let Him lead.
Down the street from Forward Edge’s office is a cemetery: Memory Memorial Park. I took a walk through it a few weeks ago, just praying, asking God what He wanted me to share with you all.
I was looking at all the tombstones, and was surprised to see how old they were. Many of the people buried there lived more than 200 years ago; we’re talking early 1800s.
As I looked at one of them – John Becker, born in 1818 – I thought to myself, “you know, I bet nobody today has any clue who John Becker was. He’s been completely forgotten.”
He had no flowers on his grave. None of them did in this old section of the cemetery. There were flowers in the newer section. But not here. Because no one remembers these people anymore. They’re all forgotten.
And the reality is, someday, same is the future for you and me. Two hundred, three hundred years from now…the odds are…we will all be forgotten.
But you know who won’t be? Do you know whose name will never be forgotten? In fact, do you know whose name will be heard by every tribe and every nation and every tongue on the face of the earth? The only name by which men can be saved…the name by which every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess He is LORD. The name of Jesus Christ.
So, I implore you, graduates…live to be forgotten, and…
Long live the name of Jesus Christ.
If there’s one thing the Covid-19 pandemic has made abundantly clear it’s that none of us are fully in control of our lives. What we can control, though, are our choices. And those choices ultimately determine the story of our lives. Several years ago, I coined a word that conveys
Ever wonder if you’re really making an impact in the life of the child you sponsor? The very fact that your child knows you chose them shows them they are special and that they matter. They know they’re important to you and also to God, you may even be an
For many, carlota de limón is a nostalgic flavor of their childhood. We’re excited for this opportunity to share this recipe, which is near and dear to our Mexico program staff. In our Mexico children’s program, our two amazing cooks prepare meals 7 days a week for children. If you’ve
One of the most impactful things I learned as a teenager was that God will do extraordinary things through you whether you are 5 or 45, 15 or 52; He has no age restrictions and certainly does not follow the boundaries that we build up ourselves. Even now, at 21,
6 yrs. old
Entered the program: May 2025
Lucy lives with her parents and four siblings in a three-room, sheet metal house with a sheet metal roof. The home has no electricity and the family uses candles for lighting. Water is fetched from a borehole and boiled for drinking. The family uses firewood for cooking in an outdoor kitchen, and they use an outdoor pit latrine which is in poor condition.
Lucy’s mother is a housewife and has a disability which prevents her from working. Her father is casual laborer and consistent work is hard to find.
Lucy's big sister, Ruth Waruguru, is also in the Mama Beth program.
Plus bonus group fundraising ideas!
